Chapter 314 - 134: Huaisheng Daoist, Fan Xin Daoist Child, Heavenly Evil Daoist

"Master, if this isn’t going to work, just expel me from the sect."

"I could start some small business or something. Even if I stop cultivating, I won’t starve."

The Netherworld Daoist Temple practices the God Summoning Technique. The stronger the god one invokes, the stronger one becomes.

There was once a senior in the Netherworld Daoist Temple who, after only three years of cultivation, invoked Venerable Bai You. Possessed by the Venerable, he killed a Great True Master at the Ninth Level of the Void Realm in a single blow, setting a record.

No other sect could possibly achieve such a result.

However, the practice comes with significant restrictions.

Whichever god you wish to invoke, you must emulate their personality, appearance, and demeanor as closely as possible.

For example, Huaisheng Daoist is slovenly and unkempt, because Kuixing is like that.

Does Kuixing demand money for catching ghosts?

Since Kuixing doesn’t, can you?

There are far, far too many restrictions of this kind.

If you break these rules, the god you invoke will no longer be effective.

For example, there was once a senior who was a glutton, and his favorite food in the world was beef.

Then, he tried to invoke Niu Head. But when the god possessed him, it gave him a sound beating instead.

"Once you enter the Netherworld Daoist Temple, you are a ghost of the Netherworld Daoist Temple even in death!"

Huaisheng Daoist’s face darkened:

"In the Netherworld Daoist Temple, we only ’cleanse the sect.’ There is no such thing as expulsion!"

"Master, I was just... saying."

Sensing his master’s anger, Fan Xin Junior Daoist stuck out his tongue and fell silent, not daring to speak loudly again.

"We’ll have to see how this Incense and Candle Grand Assembly progresses."

"Before we came, I asked the Kui God for a divination. A great change will occur at this Incense and Candle Grand Assembly. It should be our turning point."

Huaisheng Daoist brushed himself off and stood up. He couldn’t find it in him to stay angry at his disciple.

After all, even he couldn’t see a future for the Netherworld Daoist Temple.

As their connection to the Netherworld faded, he could only invoke gods using the mortal world’s worshipped statues of ghosts and deities.

And as the Kui God was gradually forgotten by the mortal world, a day would come when he could no longer borrow the Kui God’s power at all.

However, despite his internal sigh, he couldn’t let it show on his face:

"Let’s go pay our respects to the Old Mansion Master. We might learn something..."

"Sigh... The Old Mansion Master had ten thousand years of cultivation. It’s no exaggeration to call him the strongest of the ghost-gods. How could he have lost to the Leader of the Gui Chen Sect?"

At the mention of the Old Mansion Master, Fan Xin Daoist Child sighed again.

It was a deep sigh.

Because the god he invoked was the Mansion Master of the Capital City Gui Dao Mansion, Qin Wuliang!

Even as their connection to the Netherworld faded, the Netherworld Daoist Temple managed to endure for nearly a thousand years.

But their numbers dwindled, from thousands of disciples to a mere hundred, and then, in the last generation, to only seven.

After much painful deliberation, the Netherworld Daoist Temple finally lowered its sights, targeting powerful Daoists for their God Summoning Technique.

But Daoists who hold a Yin Department Divine Position cannot be possessed. This is a rule set by the Netherworld Venerable Master.

Among all the Daoists in the world, only Qin Wuliang fell outside this restriction.

Fan Xin Daoist Child was the first to try.

They gambled that this ten-thousand-year-old Mansion Master had the potential to advance further and become the new Monarch of the Netherworld.

But who could have known? Before any good news arrived, they received the terrible tidings that the Old Mansion Master had been suppressed.

"That’s not how it works."

Huaisheng Daoist shook his head.

Cultivation in this world isn’t as simple as becoming stronger the longer you live.

Demon Ghosts live far longer than humans, but with the exception of a few rare prodigies, a thousand years of their cultivation can’t match ten or even a hundred years for a human genius.

Even among humans, some remain stuck at the Tongxuan or Qi Sea realms for decades, while others reach the Dragon Mansion and Daoist Palace realms in the same amount of time.

How vast is that gap?

The master and disciple fell silent. After a moment, they began walking in the direction of the Gui Dao Mansion.

The Da Yu Capital City was bustling, but the crowds thinned the closer they got to the Gui Dao Mansion.

They walked along a wide avenue, the silhouette of the Gui Dao Mansion visible in the distance. By now, the road was nearly empty of pedestrians.

And, invisible to ordinary people, an unseen array formed a barrier, cutting off the flow of incense and sealing all channels of communication with the outside world.

The area had been completely sealed off.

"How ruthless."

Fan Xin Junior Daoist couldn’t help but clench his fists and grit his teeth, feeling a pang of empathy.

"With measures like these, it’s impossible for anyone to contact the Old Mansion Master without being noticed."

Just as they were speaking, Elder Huaisheng Daoist grew alert. He grabbed Fan Xin Daoist Child and turned to flee.

After a few leaps, they had already disappeared from the long street.

WHOOSH!

The next moment, a figure landed where the two had just been standing.

This was a middle-aged Daoist.

His expression was cold. He glanced around, then closed his eyes to sense his surroundings for a moment before frowning and muttering to himself,

"’Strange. I’m sure I sensed someone watching just a moment ago...’"

After a short while, another young Daoist appeared:

"Senior Brother Qin, did you find anything?"

"They’re already gone."

The middle-aged Daoist’s brow relaxed a little:

"A motley crew has been entering the city recently. It’s inevitable some of them have old ties to the Gui Dao Mansion. We’ll have to be more careful from now on."

"The Incense and Candle Grand Assembly is imminent. We can’t let that old ghost come out and cause trouble again!"

"Senior Brother Qin is right."

The young Daoist nodded repeatedly, but was also a little puzzled:

"Since the Sect Leader was able to suppress the old ghost, why not eliminate him completely?"

"Smash his old temple, destroy his divine statue, and eliminate the problem for good?"